United union against us

Tokyo Keizai University’s Faculty of Economics boasts a distinguished core of experienced professors, who teach a full curriculum of courses in economic theory, history, and policy. This faculty also offers courses on related topics in business administration, law, and society. In addition, many seminars address important contemporary issues such as internationalization, high-tech development, information technology, and Japan’s aging society.

Department of Economics

Features of the Department and Curriculum
When asked about their studies, students enrolled in the Faculty of Economics at TKU expressed the following opinions.

“The curriculum is extensive. You don’t just study economics. You also study management, law, sociology, and other social sciences.”

“All the teachers conduct seminars, so there’s a wide array of seminars to choose–from not just in economics, but also in the humanities and natural sciences. Furthermore, the teachers are responsive and sympathetic to the students.”

The seminars mentioned in the previous comment are classes in which a small number of students around twenty at most–study a specific subject in depth under the guidance of a faculty member who is an expert in that field. In these seminars, each student does a presentation in turn. Students can begin taking seminars beginning in their sophomore year. Students find that studying becomes particularly rewarding when they come across a seminar and a teacher that truly matches their own interests. Fellow seminar students will also often continue to associate with one another after graduation. Seminars are the heart of university education at TKU.

General Policy Program
The new society of the 21st century will bring unprecedented affluence and freedom. At the same time, it will confront us with major problems such as economic friction, widespread unemployment, the aging of society, destruction of the environment, and urban decay. Solving such problems will require a knowledge of economic policy, financial policy, general finance, and society’s basic administrative and legal mechanisms, as well as an understanding of the relationships between them. TKU’s General Policy Program is especially aimed at students who aspire to careers in policy planning in private corporations. However, this program is also ideal for those who seek to implement social or policy ideas in careers in municipal government or NPOs.

Environment and Community Program
The present day is seeing a reexamination of the true meaning of such concepts as quality of life and affluence in the modern world, and the true nature of economics. The Environment and Community Program at TKU addresses some of the most important issues in modern life by tackling subjects such as the environment, communities, social security, consumer economics, food, population, NPOs (nonprofit organizations) and NGOs (nongovernmental organizations). This program avoids constriction by established viewpoints and methods as it investigates fields of great significance in today’s world. Education in this program vigorously employs an interdisciplinary approach while at the same time providing a sound basis in traditional economics.

Japanese Economy Program
Such factors as the growth of information and communications technologies and the relaxation of regulations in various countries have helped produce a continually progressing economic globalization. One result of these trends is the freer movement of goods, money, and people; another is the increasing interdependence of national economies. The Japanese economy, like other economies, is being forced by the pressures of globalization to undergo major structural change. The Japanese Economy Program at TKU seeks to obtain a picture of Japan’s economic future, based on its history and current situation. Lectures deal with such representative fields as Japanese economic history, Japanese economic theory, world economic theory, international economics, and modern industrial theory.

Department of International Economics

Features of the Department and Curriculum
In this department, students have a relatively large degree of freedom in choosing their own classes, and also have a wide variety of classes to choose from. Students are thus able to study areas in which they are personally interested. However, students do not take only classes of personal interest.They also must take a number of required classes that allow them to receive a systematic education in their field. Wide freedom of choice coupled with systematic study is the basic concept of the curriculum of the Department of International Economics. Other unique features of the curriculum may be summarized as follows.

• Students receive a fundamental education in economics through step-by-step study.
• Students acquire a deepened understanding of international economics.
• Students acquire basic knowledge of management and law,
which are fields related to economics and necessary for functioning effectively in society.
• Small classes and personalized attention facilitate the development of a general ability to identify and solve problems.
• English is studied intensively throughout the four years. There is also an overseas study program.

The curriculum also provides:
• A general education program directly connected with issues related to contemporary society and international issues.
• Education facilitating the transition from high school to college.
• Career-oriented education, especially for women students.

Regional Economics Program
This program concentrates on economic trends in the United States, Europe, Japan, and other Asian regions involved in globalization. Although globalization is progressing, people still live in distinct regions. Students study the advantages and disadvantages of globalization for regional economic development, the significance of regionalism, and the cultural differences between regions, thus obtaining a perspective indispensable for future corporate personnel or entrepreneurs.